Back onto this fellow Sam Neill, I saw In The Mouth of Madness for the first time the other day. Am I to assume this is considered a weak point for both himself and John Carpenter? Because it was quite a fine movie.

And Color of Night. And Bonfire of the Vanities. And Hudson Hawk (yes, it's crap. Just get over it). And Death Becomes Her. And North. And The Whole Nine/Ten Yards. And Breakfast of Champions. And The Kid. And Mercury Rising. And The Jackal. And Last Man Standing. And Four Rooms. And Striking Distance. And Loaded Weapon 1. And Billy Bathgate. And Look Who's Talking Too. And...

Dr William Weir wrote:Back onto this fellow Sam Neill, I saw In The Mouth of Madness for the first time the other day. Am I to assume this is considered a weak point for both himself and John Carpenter? Because it was quite a fine movie.

I enjoyed it up to the point when it completely lost the plot, literally and figuratively. As a fan of both Lovecraft and Das Boot it was a bit rankling to see Jurgen Prochnow ham it up as a kind of shoddy, secondhand rent-an-Al-Hazred.

judderman wrote:And Color of Night. And Bonfire of the Vanities. And Hudson Hawk (yes, it's crap. Just get over it). And Death Becomes Her. And North. And The Whole Nine/Ten Yards. And Breakfast of Champions. And The Kid. And Mercury Rising. And The Jackal. And Last Man Standing. And Four Rooms. And Striking Distance. And Loaded Weapon 1. And Billy Bathgate. And Look Who's Talking Too. And...

Peven wrote:Cate Blanchett was doing pretty well before "The Golden Age"

Really? Apart from Lotr, the Aviator and Elizabeth, can you name a single notable role she's had? Most of her films have been critical and commercial bombs. But that doesn't matter because culture has annointed her our generation's Great Actress. If only culture cut Emily Watson that much slack.

Have to disagree there Judderman. Blanchett is one of the best English speaking contemporary screen actresses around even if some of her movies haven't been critical or commercial successes (in the case of the latter that proves nothing. Since when has quantity meant quality?). She was excellent in movies like The Gift (the film itself was OK), Babel and Little Fish and in the upcoming Dylan biopic I'm Not There she's reputedly outstanding - no mean feat especially as she's playing a man (Dylan himself). I agree there is some degree of hype surrounding her status and that actresses like Emily Watson do deserve more recognition. However, that's not Blanchett's fault and shouldn't detract from the fact of her abilities as an actress. Plus, remember she's regarded even more as a stage actress (and is taking over the Sydney National Theatre in Australia for the next three years) and though the two crafts are very different, it's still as measure of her talent that she's so highly rated in both fields. Also, she's only in her early 30's and in my view has achieved an awful lot in acting terms in that relatively short amount of time. There's a genuine powerfulness about her acting yet also a refreshing naturalness that's both modest and completely unadorned by technicality. I think she's well on her way to becoming one of our generations finest actresses. And in my book she deserves too.

overrated *whispers timidly*

it feels somewhat blasphemous to say it, but i could never get behind cate blanchett's acting style. to me, she's always too stagey, and never natural. in fact, i have no doubt that watching cate blanchett on stage would have me speechless, jaw dropped down to the floor. but when you're talking film, it's fucking distracting. the whole bit with the watery eyes, the strained voice? think back. she's pulled that in sooo many of her movies. granted, the characters are always vastly different, but the method remains the same. remember that episode of friends when joey was teaching an acting class and he revealed his big secret to master a crying scene- keep tweezers in your pocket and pull out a hair? yeah. i think cate took that episode deeply to heart.

Just to clarify what I'm talking about here.

Cate Blanchett is a good actreess. I'm not denying that. She may even be a great actress. But there are plenty of great actresses out there; Emily Watson, Brenda Blethyn, the late and much lemented Catrin Cartlidge, Lili Taylor, and that's just off the top of my head. I would even say that those actresses are better than Blanchett. But Blanchett has the silver eyes, flaxen hair and Gelfling pout, so she's feted as though she was Catherine Hepburn, while other actresses are left to languish in indie limbo.

But the only thing really worthwhile about Paltrow was her frequent boob shots in Shakespeare in Love...

She's not that bad. I guess I need to redefine great. She certainly isn't in my top 10 best actress list - but she has put forth some good performances, and I'm not talking about her boob shots Havoc!!!!

But the only thing really worthwhile about Paltrow was her frequent boob shots in Shakespeare in Love...

She's not that bad. I guess I need to redefine great. She certainly isn't in my top 10 best actress list - but she has put forth some good performances, and I'm not talking about her boob shots Havoc!!!!

But the only thing really worthwhile about Paltrow was her frequent boob shots in Shakespeare in Love...

She's not that bad. I guess I need to redefine great. She certainly isn't in my top 10 best actress list - but she has put forth some good performances, and I'm not talking about her boob shots Havoc!!!!

There's just something a 'Little Miss Twee' about Paltrow that at times puts me off her. She just comes across as too prissy, too earnest, too self-important.
Mind you, she married Chris Martin, so she can't be held responsible solely for that.

There's just something a 'Little Miss Twee' about Paltrow that at times puts me off her. She just comes across as too prissy, too earnest, too self-important.Mind you, she married Chris Martin, so she can't be held responsible solely for that.

I don't know if I have a good one exactly, and it might actually be slightly bending the parameters of this thread, but I was wondering if there are actors out there who you know aren't necessarily great, but who clearly spend a good chunk of their careers slumming it.

I just saw a commercial for some movie with Matthew McConaughey in it called Fool's Gold... this guy was Wooderson! He played a bearded nutjob in Reign of Fire! I don't know if he's actually ever proven himself a good actor, but it just seems to me like he's got so much charisma and potential that could be put to better use than a string of excrescent romantic comedies.

Ribbons wrote:I don't know if I have a good one exactly, and it might actually be slightly bending the parameters of this thread, but I was wondering if there are actors out there who you know aren't necessarily great, but who clearly spend a good chunk of their careers slumming it.

I just saw a commercial for some movie with Matthew McConaughey in it called Fool's Gold... this guy was Wooderson! He played a bearded nutjob in Reign of Fire! I don't know if he's actually ever proven himself a good actor, but it just seems to me like he's got so much charisma and potential that could be put to better use than a string of excrescent romantic comedies.

Heh. Seems appropriate that they've made at least two movies together, because they have a lot in common. I forget, sometimes, that she was nominated for an Academy Award.

The only movie that I liked her in was 'Almost Famous'. The rest of the stuff she's been in has been kinda crappy. I'm not even sure if she was acting in 'Almost Famous'. She was in real life playing the part of a groupie to her then boyfriend/husband Black Crows singer Chris Robinson.

So maybe then this post belongs in the 'Crappy Actor/Crappy Movie' thread.

Maui wrote:The only movie that I liked her in was 'Almost Famous'. The rest of the stuff she's been in has been kinda crappy. I'm not even sure if she was acting in 'Almost Famous'. She was in real life playing the part of a groupie to her then boyfriend/husband Black Crows singer Chris Robinson.

So maybe then this post belongs in the 'Crappy Actor/Crappy Movie' thread.

Kevin Jagernauth wrote:Orson Welles is essentially known for three things: 1) making The Greatest Movie Of All Time with "Citizen Kane" 2) forever being plagued by a variety of issues on pretty much every movie he made afterward (weep for the lost 30 minutes of "The Magnificent Ambersons") and 3) making a handful of bizarre ads in the latter stage of his career.

You already know about his infamous frozen peas ad or his numerous Carlsberg spots, but what you may not know about is his ad for the board game Dark Tower, dug up by io9. If you were a total dork as a kid like this writer, you probably played this game, which was trying to cash in the Dungeons & Dragons fad of the time with a medieval war pursuit all centered around a big battery operated tower. It was actually pretty neat, but once the massive battery needed for that tower died, the game wasn't exciting enough to find a battery for it. Anyway, it sounds way more awesome when Orson Welles talks about it.

In related news, Orson Welles' Oscar for Best Screenplay (for "Citizen Kane") -- which has passed through a few hands over the decades -- is going up for auction on December 20th, reports THR. And apparently nobody knows what it's worth as its expected to fetch anywhere from $60,000 to $1 million bucks. It'll make quite the stocking stuffer.

Kevin Jagernauth wrote:Orson Welles is essentially known for three things: 1) making The Greatest Movie Of All Time with "Citizen Kane" 2) forever being plagued by a variety of issues on pretty much every movie he made afterward (weep for the lost 30 minutes of "The Magnificent Ambersons") and 3) making a handful of bizarre ads in the latter stage of his career.

You already know about his infamous frozen peas ad or his numerous Carlsberg spots, but what you may not know about is his ad for the board game Dark Tower, dug up by io9. If you were a total dork as a kid like this writer, you probably played this game, which was trying to cash in the Dungeons & Dragons fad of the time with a medieval war pursuit all centered around a big battery operated tower. It was actually pretty neat, but once the massive battery needed for that tower died, the game wasn't exciting enough to find a battery for it. Anyway, it sounds way more awesome when Orson Welles talks about it.

In related news, Orson Welles' Oscar for Best Screenplay (for "Citizen Kane") -- which has passed through a few hands over the decades -- is going up for auction on December 20th, reports THR. And apparently nobody knows what it's worth as its expected to fetch anywhere from $60,000 to $1 million bucks. It'll make quite the stocking stuffer.